On April 28, 1947, the Kon-Tiki float left Peru to sail across the Pacific to Polynesia. Thor Heyerdahl tells his story about his struggle to get his expedition ready, and the 101-day journey on board the float together with five other men. In retrospect, he led an even tougher struggle to get the new theories about the Polynesian population recognized in scientific circles. This documentary also deals with the high media interest that followed in the wake, with the book of Kon-Tiki translated into over 70 languages, and the documentary film that was awarded an Oscar in 1951.